Google is all about search. And right now, it may be searching for a place to open its first brick-and-mortar retail store in the U.S.

Crain's New York reported this week that the tech giant is close to signing a lease for an 8,000-square-foot space in New York City's upscale SoHo area; however, the real-estate firm that controls the space told The Wall Street Journal the claim is "absolutely false."

Opening a retail shop in the U.S. would be a first for Google, though the company already has a small brick-and-mortar footprint overseas. In 2011, an Android store opened in Melbourne, Australia, and the company's Chromebook laptops have been sold in storefronts across Europe in England, Germany and Spain.